


Beating Around The Coffee Machine

by Barnil (Jus), Jus



Series: 'Round It Goes [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace is an idiot, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Slash, Protective big brother Ace, Workplace Relationship, also Ace is annoyed he's not dating, pirate-levels of swearing, sorry the tags are a mess, this is Ace-centric!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-11-22 16:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20876918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jus/pseuds/Barnil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jus/pseuds/Jus
Summary: Ace didn’t really know where and when it had all started to go to shit.In his very humble opinion, it had all started with the Monkeys taking him in. He wasn’t being ungrateful, but if he had to guess and pinpoint the start of this that was probably it.He looked at Marco’s wide, wide eyes, the shaky smile on the older man’s lips too small for him to really notice it. And he definitely, definitely didn’t squawk.---Can be read separately from Part 1!





	1. Where Ace Unknowingly Gets A Crush

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> First: I don't own One Piece!  
Second: I hope you'll enjoy. I don't know where this is gonna go, but hopefully someone will like it.

Ace didn’t really know where and when it had all started to go to shit.

_ To be completely honest _ , chimed a voice in his head, _ it’s really not that bad _ . Well, fuck that. He had only wanted to prove the world that he wasn’t like his disgraced father. All on his own. To do good, be good, and live a quiet life.  
In his very humble opinion, it had all started with the Monkeys taking him in, not that he had wanted them to at the time, mind you. It had been a good thing in the long run, and he wasn’t the least bit ungrateful, but if he had to guess and pinpoint the start of _ this _, that was probably it.

He looked at Marco’s wide, wide eyes, the shaky smile on the older man’s lips too small for him to really notice it. And he definitely, definitely _ didn’t _squawk.

* * *

Ace was a soft, kind soul. Ask anybody. Unless provoked, he was gentleness incarnate. Those who had known his mother all said he took after her, all but in the colour of his dark hair, where hers had been golden blonde. Those persons were rare nowadays, and Ace was glad he’d known that much, even if it was very little. It made him feel slightly better to know that he wasn’t close to his father.  
He had hated that when he was younger, being gentle at the core. He wanted to be the toughest of them all, to grow a hardened skin against the glares and the whispers - but then it meant that he wasn’t so much like his mother, as he learnt later on. Of course he found Sabo, and Sabo had shown him it was okay to let his guard down and be kind to himself and to others. Not everyone of course, but those he saw worthy of his trust. Sabo had been the first one.  
He distinctly remembered the day Luffy had tumbled through their cabin in the woods, their only haven, and wrecked it all into pieces. They had taken so much time to build it, to be safe and warm at night and it had been destroyed in mere seconds. In what he would soon learn was pure Luffy fashion, the tiny seven-year-old had _ laughed _ . Sabo and himself had been livid even without the laughter part, and it had been nothing short of truly enraging to have Luffy cling to them every day after that disastrous first encounter. The kid had been annoying, snotty, and pretty stupid. And weirdly, yet completely on their own accord, they started considering him a brother too. Luffy was awfully endearing, for being such a brat. The part where old geezer Garp discovered where his grandson was actually going to everyday instead of school was _ not _ his fondest childhood memory. It included a chase around a farmer’s market, several punches named _ Fist of Love _, tripping over discarded fruit and lots of skinned joints and bruises.

After that, things had started to look up. Garp had gruffly agreed to take them in - what on _ Earth _ was Luffy doing playing with the homeless kids when his grandfather was one of the most important and powerful men in the capital, only God could possibly know. Ace wasn’t sure that even God, if he existed -which he was dubious about-, could answer for anything that Luffy did. He probably got that from his father, from what Ace had understood about the mysterious man. Whom had never shown up, actually, and only sent his only son a letter every year for his birthday. Sorry excuse for a father, if you asked Ace.

(As for Luffy’s weirdness, the kid was dating Trafalgar. That in itself was enough to prove Luffy’s dodgy tastes and sanity because, _ ew _.)

Ace, who had begrudgingly agreed to learn to read from Sabo, had been given a real education on a whim, and while it hadn’t really been his jam like it had always been Sabo’s, he had been glad to find out he was smart. Really smart, if he put any kind of effort into it, actually. The first few years were boring, until they got to the real good stuff. He loved biology. He kept at it, worked at all the science subjects like crazy.  
Now, after years of hard work, he was beginning his fourth year of med school. At 22, he was ready to work half-time in MarieJoie’s General hospital, in the surgery department, as a nurse. “It’s an honor, Mr. Portgas, I hope you know that. However your excellent results deserve due recognition,” had said Director Newgate, and a sense of pride had filled his whole being with warmth.

The only cloud in the picture was that he was in the same department as Trafalgar Law, and if him being a true chirurgical genius and having a place as head heart surgeon at the young age of 27 wasn't enough to elicit resentment in Ace, then the part where the man casually snogged his little brother on a daily basis definitely was.  
Man, he _ hated _ Trafalgar. What exactly did Luffy see in the weirdo was beyond his comprehension. He could give the man one thing and one thing only in that he did soften and brighten when Luffy entered his line of sight. It never failed: without missing a beat, he just straightened and stopped looking like such a zombie. It had been going on for two years now, since Luffy had turned 18. Well, on the Monkey side, it actually had started when Luffy had followed Ace to the med school orientation four years ago and glimpsed Law making a speech through the crowd. He had been gone, not that he had known right away. It had been a constant, one-voice chorus of _ Law this _ and _ Law that _ at home (and also school, if his friends were to be believed). And it had been so _ tiring _, even Sabo had thought so -still thought so. And Sabo wasn't the single one of the three brothers.

Yeah, embarrassing. He was the single one. Ace. The sexiest of the three was the single one, oh the irony. But whatever, it's not like he had the time to date anyway, unlike someone named after a fucking concept (Law, that’s Law, _ how can someone name their own child LAW _ ), he had to sleep at some point.  
(“You, sexy? You have freckles all over like a child in summer. It’s _ cute _, Ace.” “Shut up, Sabo! At least I have abs!”)

Right now, said sexiest brother was not at his best, wearing his comfiest sweater and pristine new scrubs. He made his way through the doors of the hospital's third floor without getting lost, worrying the pen that had come with his uniform with a nervous _ clic-clic-clic-clic-clic _ . The pediatric aisle was signaled on the left in bright blocky letters, and the surgical aisle was on the right. The break room was in the middle, the blinds drawn down to hide tired nurses and grumpy doctors away from the patients. Everything was pretty straightforward, like the director, like the line of thought of the establishment. It was all brightly lit and quiet. The unexpected and precipitated sound of someone running had Ace snapping his head just in time to witness a man in a doctor's blouse, with a _ goddamn head of messy pink curls _, run into the break room with a wail of 'aaah, coffee time!’ and slam the door behind him. At the intersection, Ace peered in the corridor at his left, which the man had seemingly shot past. Not a sound from the rooms, at least nothing alarming, even if a few doors were open. He even heard some giggles and saw a little boy wave at him mischievously, half-hidden behind a door. He smiled and waved back, reassured that all seemed in order, swivelled back on his heels and-

“Hey there! You're the new intern nurse for the surgeons?” That was the pink-and-curly-haired doctor. Ace was surprised to see that a man with pink hair could look so handsome up close.

“Yeah,” Ace yelped. “Yeah, I'm huh, Portgas. Ace.” Still a little jumpy, he held out his hand. The starch on his uniform produced an embarrassing scrunchy sound.

“Awh, hey, welcome here, Ace. My name's Marco,” he replied and shook Ace's hand in a firm yet gentle grip. “I'm head pediatrician. We're gonna see each other at coffee break, then! Same floor!”

“Yeah. You seemed really happy about getting coffee, I thought there was a tornado loose in the corridor,” Ace joked to hide his awkwardness away. Or tried to. At least, Dr. Marco laughed.

“Ahah! Ah, yeah, I need it to keep up with my little monsters.”

A chorus of “We're angels!” and “I'm not a monster!” and other enthusiastic cries erupted behind him, and Ace turned to see most of the kids looking at them, some clutching toys and one -his heart squeezed- dragging his IV bags on a rail with him. Ever the people person, especially small persons, Ace grinned and waved again.

“I'm sure he's exaggerating, guys,” he chirped in reassurance. “I have to go though. Angels,” cheers answered him, “Doctor Marco. I'll see you all around?”

He got yelled at for being a few minutes late, but it could have been worse. Way, way worse. If Trafalgar was going to be the cloud in his work life, then the pediatric aisle was more than likely going to be the proverbial ray of sunshine.

* * *

It became part of his routine: each time he had a break, he got to the room to get a drink, in the silly hope of seeing Dr. Marco. He usually hung out next to the door, on the pediatric aisle side with his cup of godawful caffeine, chatting with the kids. If Ace didn’t already want to be a surgeon like crazy, he’d want to be a pediatrician.  
_ It’s not too late _ , sang a little voice in his head this day.  
He hummed as he entertained the thought for a little while he played charades with the kids, making them laugh with his grimaces. He sighed a little as he saw that his break time was nearly up, and decided to down the rest of his coffee before Law could start yelling at him. That never ended well for him when he started.

“That’s impressive,” the voice he had been waiting for said, a little breathlessly. “Noice,” Dr. Marco added in an upbeat tone, not exactly childishly. His hair was now cropped short, no hint of curls anymore, and the soft pink had been replaced by a bright blue. The part was shaved on the side of his head in the shape of a lightning bolt.

“Oh,” Ace sputtered, squinting at the design. “Dr. Marco. Hi?”

“Ah, it’s the hair huh? You don’t like it...” Did the man really sound... disappointed? Or was Ace just in shock from that blue hair?

“No, it’s fine! I was just a little taken aback. It’s for the kids, right?”

“Yeah, exactly!” He’d eased back into a smile as soon as Ace had done so himself. “I wanted to ask, why are you with the surgeons? Don’t get me wrong, someone’s gotta parry Trafalgar’s terrible bedside manners, but... You’ve got good enough instincts to work in more social areas.”

“Oh, huh...”

Ace looked up. Most people considered him tall, but Dr. Marco was even taller. The little angels were looking expectantly at them both, as if they’d been watching a cartoon, and he was strangely hyper-aware of their little chubby faces and all the things he really shouldn’t think in the presence of children and their impressionable minds. Suddenly he felt weirdly hot and awkward.

“Well, huh, Dr. Marco...”

“Hey, by the way, call me just Marco. I call you Ace, after all.”

“Sure, huh, well...” He’d been calling a doctor by his _ first name _ all along, what the hell, he was so embarrassed now-

“_ PORTGAS _,” Trafalgar bellowed somewhere behind him, and if Ace hadn’t already drank his coffee, he’d have drenched himself and his scrubs in sticky-slimy beverage leftovers. “It’s been way more than ten minutes! I’ll have your sorry butt kicked out of this damn hospital if you’re not here in a second instead of wasting time FLIRTING!”

The impressionable minds around him all gasped at the swear words, except for a couple of older kids who smirked at the red that washed rapidly over Ace’s freckled face. Marco’s cheeks were tinted pink as well, but that was probably from the embarrassment of his colleague thinking some kid was flirting with him.  
Ace turned back without another word and spent the rest of his day glaring at his superior’s smug grin. Given how long it lasted, Ace was pretty sure it was payback from all the times he had prevented smooching sessions between Law and Luffy. That man was seriously deranged. He didn’t see Sabo being humiliated out of nowhere! Anyway, given his mistake in thinking he could take a few more minutes to himself, he could tell it was going to be a long day.


	2. Where Ace Blunders His Way Through Flirting

Ace looked around and  _ tried _ to remember whether Luffy had told him they were hosting a pajama party, but his mind came up blank. All the troublemakers were here, all nine of them blinking up at him when he got through the door, back from a day of classes, all ten hours of it. He probably wasn’t very good to look at, given the sympathetic faces they were pulling.  Instead of yelling at his little brother -too tired for that- he squinted and happily noticed that Law was not there. Ah, sweet mercy. He'd be able to bitch about his boss freely. He flopped down on the big couch between Chopper and Nami, the girl yelping something about the state of his person. Luffy guffawed at her frown, and Chopper chided her by taking his defense.   
Right,the parents of their littlest friend were doctors, he thought blearily. Chop’ knew how much it took out of you -the studies sometimes even more than the practice. He probably wanted to be one as well, all things considered.

“Hey everyone,” Ace mumbled at large. “Didn't know you were here tonight.” Luffy laughed and the rest of them returned his greeting.

“I was hungry so I called Sanji and he was shopping with the girls and it turned into a crew meeting!”

“We're not pirates, Luffy,” Nami snapped, short-tempered as always. It was nice to know there was someone to rein in his brother's impulses.

“Well we could be…”

“The sea is several hundred miles from the city, Captain,” replied Luffy's best friend Zoro, ever the calm one and also second voice of reason, just… Lazy. If he hadn't spoken up, Ace would've thought he was sleeping, slouched against the couch as he was.

“And it’s not like  _ you _ could find it,” Luffy shot back with a pout, poking his friend in the face with his sandal. Zoro huffed, clearly annoyed, and batted Luffy's foot away.

“Anyway,” said Sanji with a despairing glare at the two other guys, “I made plenty of food. I know this godawful family well enough by now. Want some soup?”

“Oh, yeah. I'll go get it myself, don't worry,” Ace said as an argument erupted between Luffy, Usopp and Zoro about whether or not Luffy should be Captain.

He got up and Chopper followed him as well as Robin, who probably just wanted to read her book in peace. It was best to avoid the noise... and there it was, Brook had already had the time to run to Garp's grand piano and started playing some old pop song. The argument was still going on, Franky cheering both sides on and Nami and Sanji yelling at them to stop.

It was always pretty lively when Luffy's friends came around. Ace was grateful that his little brother had found such a pack, because he himself had never really had that chance when he was a kid. He was naturally social, but he’d been too old to create such strong friendships when he’d started to actually go to school. The groups of kids his age were already formed. Luffy had had the chance to know Usopp and Chopper since he was born, more or less -something about Garp’s frenemies from law school and the military having children and godsons of their own. The three boys had never been to school together as little kids, though, but Ace remembered the playdates and the general enthusiasm and excitement those generated. Zoro was actually a later addition from primary school, but he and Luffy understood each other so perfectly that no one batted an eye when Luffy said the green-haired asshole was his best friend. Ace said asshole, but truthfully, Zoro had been a lifesaver. As much as they wanted to, neither Ace nor Sabo could keep an eye on Luffy 24/7, but Zoro… Zoro could, at least at school.   
Then no one really knew how Sanji and Nami happened. Zoro and Luffy had just shrugged and said they were friends from middle school, and so they were. By that time, Usopp had joined for classes; Chopper, a few years younger, had caught up some by jumping ahead in school. Nami had been recalcitrant to Luffy’s stubbornness and had that given her trouble, but in the end, she had stuck around.   
Robin had been and still was the biggest mystery of the group for Ace, and Sabo’s insight hadn’t been much better. She was by far the smartest of them all, and yet she had been held back three years in school. She was quiet and mysterious, and very cold at first. Apparently, she had gotten in trouble during high school and the group had been her salute, one way or another. She never talked about it, but her eyes were always fond whenever she looked at them all. Franky knew Robin from their childhoods and had just tagged along after reuniting with her once they’d all finished high school, and Brook was… Brook. By far the oldest (older than Law, even?), yet no one was sure how old he really was. He was a TA in music at the local community college they all attended, and that was about it, really.

Ace was always full of wonder at seeing them interact. There was no doubt that they were all friends, extremely good friends even, but their group was unconventional for the most part. The simple gap between Chopper and Brook, for example, was very weird to most people. Then again, Luffy had led him into weirdness a long, long time ago and surprising him or Sabo would take a lot. Ace mechanically poured himself a bowl of soup as he thought about it. Chopper held up his own bowl to him for seconds, which amused him -everyone always went on about how much food Sabo, Luffy and himself ate but the truth was, they were just more obvious about it. The boy (geez, he was nearing his 19th birthday, when did  _ that _ happen?) made unnecessary puppy eyes at him, and Ace obliged him, topping his bowl. Robin sat on the table not unlike Luffy, and smiled at the youngest as he devoured his food. In the living room, the argument was still going on at full volume. Ace kicked the door close, making his way to slouch next to Chopper. The bowl of soup was warm and fragrant, and he found himself slurping it up at top speed even through the scald on his tongue. Blessed by the angels of food was Sanji.

“Hey, isn't Sabo home? I have stuff to talk to him about,” he asked the two others as he neared the end of his bowl.

“Ah, no. Your brother left with Miss Koala for a date.”

“Ugh, Jesus, isn't anyone single here? Or at least not glued to their significant other?”

“I'm single!” Chopper cheered. Ace briefly wondered if that was really that good an association, given he shuddered at the thought of Chopper  _ dating _ . The kid was too young, adult or not.

“And I would never glue myself to Franky,” added Robin matter-of-factly. “He's very kind it's true, but that sounds unnecessarily distressing.”

“You know what I mean, Robin,” Ace glared at the eldest of his two friends (by association, they were all his friends, too). She had the gift to unnerve him without even meaning to, as much as he appreciated how rational she always sounded.

“Are you having heart troubles?”

“No-”

“If you have you have to tell us Ace! That can be very dangerous, you could  _ die _ !” Chopper cried out before thinking about the phrasing as the others both blinked at him. “Oh,” he realised sheepishly, “you mean like, love trouble.”

“And as I said,” Ace made a stabby motion with his spoon -so  _ threatening _ \- in Robin's direction, “I  _ don't _ . I wanted to talk to Sabo because he’s the one who makes the most sense in here but he's gone for the night to bone his girlfriend. It's unfortunate but I'll live. Okay?”

“If you say so,” Robin replied amusedly, at the same time as Chopper nodded his small head of fluffed up hair.

He finished his soup in silence, Chopper swinging his legs next to him before the boy grabbed a pear from the fruit basket and left for the living room with a little wave. Robin went back to her book, a smile still playing on her lips at Ace’s great annoyance.   
And then he must’ve had a bout of narcolepsy, because he lifted his head from the table and the whole gang of nine was looking at him attentively from across the table. He was a little startled, especially given the bright smile on Luffy's face. Back behind Nami, he saw Law’s distinct nearly-golden eyes and the flash of a toothy smirk. Oh, no.

“Hey, Torao says you have a crush on a doctor at the hospital! Pleeeeease tell me aaaall about it?”

Head heart surgeon and internship supervisor or not, one of these days he was going to boil Trafalgar Law alive. You'd better mark his words.

* * *

So not only did Law make it annoying at work, now all his little brother’s friends and by extension also his not-blood-twin brother and his girlfriend all thought they knew his feelings better than he did. Not only did they think wrong, but they also felt like they had to bring up this fantasy crush of his all the time.  
The only one who didn't seem interested in his (_fantasy!_) love life was Luffy, who said Ace would figure it out on his own. Except there was nothing to figure out_ at all_.  
The day had been strangely quiet in surgery, so Ace found himself lounging in the break room when Marco appeared, a gaggle of children on his heels. Ace smiled to himself, because it really did look like a hen and her chicks as the kids mimicked his every step. Marco sometimes gathered all the kids that could walk or roll and led them to the room to buy them all a hot chocolate, or a lemonade when it was too hot. Of course, that meant the drink was then unavailable for a few days for the whole floor, but no one ever protested, and Ace would punch them if anyone decided to. Marco would probably beat him to it, but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?  
Some of the kids spotted him from afar, cried out his name and made a beeline for him, smacking on his legs and hugging him from all angles. He laughed, a little jostled -thankfully he’d nearly finished his drink by then. He decided to down it quickly and toss the cup into the trash bin so he had both hands free to ruffle their hair, asking them about their treatments and their time in the pediatric service. When he looked up, Marco was smiling at him. Ace tried to gulp, failed, and managed to do it on the second try. Thankfully he had succeeded in smiling back.  
_Right_, the unnerving little voice in his mind said. _There’s nothing to figure out at all_.

“Hi, Ace.”

“Hey, Marco. It’s hot chocolate day if I’m not mistaken? Can I have one too?”

“I don’t know if that’s a jab about how young you are or how old I am, but I am not paying for your drink, you punk.”

“I don’t like chocolate that much,” Ace reassured him with a grin. And then they both laughed at the scandalized faces the children turned to him, most of them sporting light brown mustaches. “I’m sorry kids, but at least that makes more for you guys?” They immediately dropped the scowls and returned to their warm and sweet induced bliss.

“Yeesh, that was close,” Marco whispered as the kids started to chat between themselves again. The doctor, on his part, looked ready to burst out laughing.

“Yeah… And huh, by the way, you’re not that old. You don’t look old, at least,” Ace mumbled quickly.

“Awh, you’re just being nice. You don’t look that young either.”

“Hey, fuck you. I’ll have you know that I’m in my prime!”  Marco went back to laughing, probably at the face he had pulled. Despite the slight embarrassment, Ace felt good about hearing the older man’s laughter.

“Come on, I’m not that funny...”

“Nah, but your face is.”

“You’re really gonna vex me, you know.”

“You’ll be fine,” Marco said confidently with a wave, a giggle still present in his voice. “You’re tougher than that, right? Law made you sound tougher than most people.” Ace tried not to explode right there and then, but his face must’ve turned redder than ever.

“I hate him so much,” he mumbled. “What horrors did he tell you?”

“Horrors? None. Mainly he just complains about how much your brother talks about you. From what I heard, you’re Luffy’s personal hero or something, and he’s a force of nature, so you know… I gathered that you were pretty tough yourself.”

That was way better than he had hoped for. As Marco went on about Law and his general bitchiness, Ace nodded with a faint smile on his face, picturing Law bitching in the subway to Marco. He knew that the two of them shared the same itinerary for some time everyday, which was strange -he’d thought at first that they’d both have a car. Turned out that, weirdly enough Law was the crappiest driver ever, and not so weirdly, Marco was very enthusiastic about healing the planet one gesture at a time. He should’ve noticed the reusable cup he brought with him everywhere.  
Once Ace snapped out of his imagined scene, he found that the kids were looking at them once again, as quiet as mice about to steal some cheese from a trap. Ace briefly wondered why Marco and he seemed to capture their attention every time they interacted in their presence, but then it was time to help Marco steer them away from on-demand chocolatey goodness.  
Which was quite the challenge, actually, but they nailed it anyway, because they’re a great team like that.

* * *

“Your brother,” a very gruff, very annoyed voice breathed, “is a menace that should be banned from this hospital. Unless he needs medical attention.”

“Oh hey, Smoker, hello to you too,”Ace greeted with a hint of mockery. “I didn’t know you knew Luffy!”

“Stop laughing at me! How many times did I bring him and his little friends in, only to have  _ you _ of all people bailing them out?”

“Hey, I had stopped being a hooligan long before Luffy was in any capacity to break the law,” Ace defended himself as Tashigi, Smoker’s subordinate, turned the corner and tried to get her breathing back under control. “Hi, Tash.” She was the same age as him, and she was probably one of the only kids from middle school he didn’t mind seeing around as often as he did.

“Hi, Ace,” she replied with a kind smile, before glaring a little at Smoker. “Sarge,  you’re not supposed to run around here, or yell at the personnel.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Where’s the Monkey kid?”

“He disappeared, but he’s probably with Doctor Trafalgar for his lunch break. You know how they are, we won’t find them in here.”

“Argh! Again?”

“Wait, what did he do?” Ace hated having to do this, especially now that Luffy was grown, but the feeling of brotherly duty was stronger than him. He was the eldest brother, after all.

“Broke a shop window and yelled at the shopkeeper to call his grandfather,” Tashigi said with a pained expression taking over her face.

“Jesus. Listen, Smokeman.” He didn’t falter under the policeman’s glare -and whatever, that was on him. You do  _ not _ smoke cigars nonstop if your last name is Smoker. “I’m on my break right now. I’ll deal with it, okay? Luffy’s an idiot but he’s not a bad kid. I’ll make sure he apologises to that man and I'll take care of the rest. Which shop is it?”

“Just the restaurant down the road.  _ Baratie _ , right?” Ace thanks the heavens when Smoker decides to indulge him and be a help rather than a thorn of justice in his side.

“Yes Sarge, that’s the one.”

Ace sighed and nodded his thanks. Luffy was a well-known sight around the city center, and while most people knew he was a sweet kid and didn’t just use his family’s influence to wreak havoc… He was still wreaking havoc. He was just as scrawny as his boyfriend and smaller than Law, but he was also strangely strong. No one really understood how Luffy worked, not even doctors, which sometimes led Ace to wonder whether Law’s…  _ love _ for his brother wasn’t just medical curiosity. He really hoped not, because otherwise Ace and Sabo were both going to end up in jail for premeditated murder.

He hung his scrubs t-shirt on his coat hook and grabbed his old baseball tee and his leather jacket, looking probably awkward with his half-civilian half-nurse outfit. But who cared, right, it was only a small trip to the restaurant in order to calm down an angry shop owner. The name even sounded familiar, so it was probably either well-known or Luffy spent some of his time over there. He arrived after a few minutes worth of walking and looked at the front of the shop. The glass door was indeed smashed to bits, and worry rose in him -did Luffy get cut? Was he bleeding? Did he get medical attention- and then remembered that his little brother had reached Law and that Ace had nothing to worry about. Law was an asshole, but he had irreprochable work ethics. He would never let anyone looking even just a little bit sick get by without a check-up; and he was a surgeon not a general doctor, which said a lot about how seriously he took his Hippocrates Oath.   
Instead of torturing his own mind any longer, Ace stepped in and avoided the glass brushed in a pile on the floor, heading for the counter where an angry blond man was waiting with his arms crossed. He was pretty sure that the man’s moustache was twitching, but he decided against mentioning it. Smoker or Tashigi must have called ahead to tell the man he was coming to sort the situation out. Knowing them, it was probably Tashigi, bless her heart.

“Your brother did this?” Okay, straight to the point. Ace nodded.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry, Sir. I’ll pay you for the damages.”

“Only a third.”

“I’m sorry, what?” That was a first.

“My son’s responsible, too. They booted out some asshole who was harassing one of my clients, only they did it  _ through _ the door and not  _ by _ the door. He’s a good kid, you know. Just a little wild.”

“Oh.” Ace blinked. Not many people were that understanding. “That’s very fair of you to see it that way, Sir. Is your son okay? I’m a nurse, I could take a look at him.”

“Ah, Sanji’s fine, so is little Luffy,” and oh well, it did make sense that Sanji’s dad would own a restaurant. And that explained why the restaurant’s name sounded familiar -Ace’s memory wasn’t really focused on anything but work and studying. “I wish I could have met you under other circumstances. I’ve got a tab under your brother’s name, too.”

“Yeah, he’ll pay for that himself if you don’t mind,” Ace said quickly. “We’re all big eaters. I have enough trouble with my own tabs, thank you very much.”

Sanji’s dad laughed at that, all the edges of anger gone from his face. Ace felt a little better at the whole ordeal now that he knew the whole story. He’d still have to talk to Luffy about taking his fights _ outside  _ of establishments though, because even just the third of the printed double-glass door had been really expensive and his bank account suffered a little. He didn’t envy the chef and the paperwork that seemed to be waiting for him.   
And then his stomach gurgled so he decided that whatever, he could eat there. The food was probably gonna be amazing, if this was where Sanji had learnt how to cook. The young man actually passed by to say hi, and Ace was relieved to see that he was indeed fine, with only a little bandaid on his forehead were he must’ve gotten a cut from flying glass. He was soon gone though, because he had things to take care of in the kitchen, and Ace got a seat at the counter to eat a plate (or three) of pasta, slurping the sauce happily. It was indeed great food, he mused as he drank his coffee quietly, getting ready to pay and go back to the inferno of following Law’s instructions to the letter, starting in less than twenty minutes.

“Ace! Didn’t know you ate at the  _ Baratie _ !” and that was Marco and holy shit he looked like a clown with his leather jacket and his scrubs trousers and  _ why the fuck did Ace even care about his looks all of a sudden _ . “Caught you right in time for coffee, that’s perfect. Hey Zeff, can I have an espresso, please?”

Ace took some time to take in Marco’s appearance. It was his day off, and he had apparently taken the time to change his haircut once more. Ace tried not to laugh, because now he looked a little like he had a pineapple on top of his head. It somewhat cleared up his face though, making his always alert eyes under heavy lids shine and his high cheekbones more prominent. His outfit was not very different from his usual work clothes: he was still wearing a colourful shirt (mauve today) but with acid washed jeans and big sneakers instead of slacks and dress shoes.

“You look good,” Ace said honestly but very dumbly, probably staring at Marco. He didn’t have the time to explain his awkward gayness before he was rewarded by a brilliant smile.

“Thanks! I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces tomorrow. You look good too. Leather looks nice on you,” he replied, without losing his smile. Which had Ace’s knees a little weak, so good thing that he was seated already.

“Huh, thanks.”

“You sound surprised.” He nodded his thanks to the waiter who handed him his coffee, then looked straight at Ace’s face, waiting for some kind of explanation.

“It’s just an old jacket. It was Garp’s, before,” he said with a shrug.

Truth was, Ace wasn’t used to straightforward compliments. He had been mocked a lot as a kid, either for being behind at school, for the freckles that painted his face, or for his default grumpy face. He had worked hard to improve his grades, the freckles had diminished and his face got friendlier with time, but the comments had hurt. Before those, it had been the glares and the nicknames and the spit that he had gotten in the face as a homeless kid, his only comfort the unwavering presence of Sabo. And after that, when he had grown up and filled out enough to scare bullies away, he had turned out to be gay. Really really gay. So the names and the whispers had come back, not in full force of course, but it was still enough to hurt sometimes.   
Moreover, he was still young, and had very little time to think about love. He found that relationships were hard for him and he was more often approached than he tried his luck with other men. After a few times, he had realised that a lot of gay guys his age were looking for sex and sex only and very few bothered to compliment him honestly, probably thinking he was in for the same thing. There had been a few good surprises of course, it wasn’t all sad and dark, but none of his relationships had lasted longer than two months. Maybe he just wasn’t lucky or he just didn’t put enough effort into it, but then again, it really wasn’t his priority in life right now.

“Ah, that makes sense. I was about to say you have an eye for vintage clothes,” Marco replied, snapping him out of his admittedly terrible train of thought. “But it was only your grandfather who had really good taste at your age.”

“Hey, I chose that from his ‘old stuff’ trunk in the forgotten part of the attic, might I say.”

“I guess you have a point,” Marco agreed pleasantly and nudged him a little bit. Ace

smiled at that, and refocused on his drink to avoid blushing too hard.

“I do, don't I,” he settled for a cheeky tone, because why the hell not. This wasn't work, after all, and it had been a while since he last flirted harmlessly. It's not like he had a  _ crush _ -crush on Marco. Right? Right.

“Hey, this is better. Being proud of yourself is important, Ace. I hope to see you like that more often. Taking compliments without hesitation, I mean.”

“Well.” The little voice in his head which sounded like Law all of a sudden, seemingly decided that it was in charge now because he really didn't mean to blurt the next sentence out. “Why don't you compliment me more often, then?”

If he had looked back on it a little more closely, Ace could’ve told it had all started to go to shit when he’d first laid eyes on Marco. He couldn't blame anyone else for that, it would have been extraordinarily stupid and unfair. And he wasn't either of those things. But the situation was bad.   
_ To be completely honest _ , chimed the voice in his head, _ it’s really not that bad and you’re being a drama queen like Sabo always says you are _ . Unless it kind of  _ was  _ terrible because he had been arguing with his friends for weeks about not having a crush on Marco except that he  _ did have one _ and everyone around him knew that already. They were urging him to do something about it, even.  
(“We could cut the sexual tension with a knife and the object of your affection isn’t even here, Ace.” “Sabo, I swear to God, one more word and I'll sew you mouth shut.”)

He looked at Marco’s wide, wide eyes, the shaky smile on the older man’s lips way out of his vision's range. With a squawk, he grabbed his wallet to run to the cashier and pay for his meal (“Keep the change!”) before fleeing the scene. He didn’t apologise or look back and simply ran from the disaster that had just taken place. If anyone called after him, he didn't hear it over the sound of his own heart beating as loud as a drum in his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I should be able to update this every week on Thursday or Friday, I think. I'm also thinking of writing companion one-shots on how the different characters met, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep it up. It would also be really small snippets for most... So I'm not sure if it's worthwhile.


	3. In Which Problems Are Faced Head-On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support and comments and everything!! Enjoy this week's edition of my brain goes haywire. I won't update this next week and instead start with the snippets! They'll be put in a series together.

Ace felt like an utter idiot. Who the fuck said such a thing and then fled the scene? An utter idiot named Portgas D. Ace, that’s who. It was supposed to be harmless flirting.

He had avoided Marco the whole afternoon at work, and thought he was lucky that the next two days were class ones. Turned out it majorly sucked. He was barely attentive, which was surprising for classmates and teachers alike, who all expressed their concern. Ace just wanted to go back to MarieJoie’s General and see Marco and his stupid but loveable haircut. And then he woke up on Saturday morning.  
He woke up at six as usual and all his beautiful plans to make it all better went up in smoke. He didn’t have to go to work in the first place and he didn’t even want to see Marco. With an unnatural groan for his joyful nature, he tried to go back to sleep. He heard the house gradually stir up and strangely the first to really make some noise was Luffy, moving around in his room next door. The sounds were as strange as himself feeling blue. The boy loved his sleep and the only thing that went through Ace’s mind was _ugh Law is here I won’t be able to make up an excuse becausehe probably knows_. Law in Luffy’s room was not uncommon, but it was starting to get hot these days and Luffy hated the heat. Usually he would then prevent Law from visiting because, quoting, “_he’s like a furnace, shishishishi_”. All in all, the morning was already weird and he hadn't even lifted his head from his pillow.  
He did as much to look at his clock, which announced 7:15 in bright red. It was time to make up his mind: to go to volunteer at work or to lie down and say he was sick. He _had _to do something with his day or he'd end up crazy. He made his way to his wardrobe and opened it to take a good look at himself in the mirror inside the door of it. He really didn’t look well. He was a little too pale with the bags under his eyes a little too pronounced to really be considered healthy. That's when his door opened with a bang.

“HEY ACE-”

“Luffy, boundaries!” Ace barked, flushing when he noticed the amused face of Law behind his brother. Thank goodness his bare ass was behind the door of the opened wardrobe.

“Sorry, sorry! But the trial’s today and you weren’t out of your room yet and Gramps is getting annoyed...”

Ace blinked. He had totally forgotten about the trial, all wrapped up in Marco and his own stupidity. For a few seconds, he felt sick to his stomach for _forgetting_, but then a reassuring little voice reminded him that Thatch would've laughed at seeing him tangled in love-induced dilemmas. But fuck, he had to go, Thatch deserved as many people behind his case, even if he had been buried months ago. He glanced in the mirror once again. His face still was terrible, but it would have to do. At least he wouldn’t have to see Marco and wouldn’t have to make up an excuse either.

* * *

So turned out he had to see Marco! The world was just a simple fuck you to his own tiny and insignificant dignity as a man seeking for love.  
Ugh, he hated having a stupid crush. He turned all mushy. And the trial against Thatch’s murderer - _ alleged murderer _ \- was no place to turn mushy and lovesick. He could literally feel the intrigued glances Luffy and Gramps were sending him since he made that mortified noise at the back of his throat upon entering the room and noticing the distinct shape of Marco's hairdo.  
The man on the stand was Teach. He knew him, everyone in med school knew him. They thought they did, at least, because behind the energetic smile and the grand speeches about freedom and dreams, there was a killer. Ace had read the case over and over and was sure Teach was the one who had done it. He was also very proud that old geezer Garp was representing Thatch’s family. He simply wasn’t sure why Marco was there.

Thatch had been a reassuring presence for everyone on campus. He had been employed as a primary teacher just after he had completed his thesis, and had started teaching the year before Ace had started med school himself. Along the two years and eight months they had been granted to know each other, Ace had often asked him for help. He had never liked asking for help, but Thatch had been the kind of person everyone implicitly trusts -he reminded Ace of Sabo a lot in that way. He was his main biology lecturer, but also led a few labs and discussions. And then one cold morning of April, Thatch had been found dead in the inventory of Curie building, surrounded by empty drawers with a bullet in his head. Ace’s morbid curiosity had found a limit at seeing the chalky outline of his favourite teacher on the linoleum, decorated with a splatter of rusty red that the police officers hadn't deemed necessary to wash off the floor. Even now, over a year later, he couldn’t bear to approach the room. Not many did.  
Finding a culprit hadn’t been hard. Thatch was loved by many and very few people had a good enough reason to kill him. He had been seen arguing with Teach for a few weeks before his death, and the big man had always vocally envied him.

(Teach, during his defense, would argue that it was admiration. However, there was a fine line between admiration and envy. The facts remained: they had been in the same promotion, good friends even, and Thatch had risen through the ranks as Teach muddled through getting his thesis written properly. There had been arguments in several places on campus for over two months before Thatch’s death. Before his murder.)

But nothing else linked Teach to the crime. No weapon, not even the subject of their disagreement -he kept repeating it was simply old friends jesting in all of his interrogations, and the detective in charge of the case could only do so much. But he had that satisfied smirk on his face that neither Ace nor Garp nor anyone liked which covered what they were sure was a satisfactory lie.

“We’d like to call a witness on the side of Mr. Thatch.”   


“Very well. Dr. Phoenix, Marco, you are called as a witness by the accuser. Please stand and be ready to answer questions by both parties.”

Ace tried not to look at him, but it was that or being weird and stare at Law’s profile. He tugged a little at his collar, because shitfuck, was that room stuffy, and looked straight ahead as Marco crossed the room to get up on the stand. Ace watched as the pediatrician swore on a Bible and sat, unbuttoning his suit jacket. And then he listened. He listened as Marco painted Thatch’s portrait very close to what Ace knew and remembered, with only a little more detail. Marco talked of an amicable, passionate man; of a classmate always ready to help with homework and of a friend who had always understood more than he would let on. It soon became glaringly evident that Marco was testifying on the character of a close friend. That explained his presence there, and maybe he would have some interesting facts to add. Maybe he was the one who had the details that had made Teach guilty enough to be put on the stand, even. And then Marco cleared his throat to answer a question Ace would not soon forget.

“Thatch and I were extremely close. We’ve been friends since high school.” Even from the third row, Ace could see the glint of unshed tears in his eyes. Lamely, he registered the use of the present tense, wondering just how much aching Marco was in. “We talked all the time about things that made us happy or troubled us. About everything, really.”   


“Did Dr. Thatch tell you about his disagreement with Mr. Teach?”   


“Yes.” Marco frowned, and Ace shuddered. The look was destined to Teach, and so Marco’s glare was directed to the other side of the room, but it was as if the usually happy-go-lucky man had willed the temperature fifteen degrees lower all of a sudden. “He did. He was anxious because some very potent drugs were going missing at school. He suspected Teach, but he had no proof to cement his argument. But I’m sure the police can easily find that conversation back on my phone.”   


“Indeed. But why not go to the police?” Marco sighed frustratedly at the question.   


“I told you just what kind of man he was. Other people can agree with me on that, ask our other friends and classmates. Teach was his friend, like he was mine too. At least I thought he was. Thatch would have never betrayed and snitched on him if he wasn’t absolutely sure about the stealing. But he talked to me about it, so I’m quite sure his fears were founded. He died the night after he told me about this, after all. No, sorry, he didn’t die - _ that son of a bitch put a bullet in my best friend’s head _ .”

The whole court buzzed with agitation at his admittedly crude words, as well as the accusatory finger pointed in Teach’s direction. The latter suddenly looked very nervous, actually. Marco hadn’t even raised his voice, he had simply enunciated crisp and sharp like his words would cut through anything and anyone to get to the truth. The Justice slammed his hammer several times to get through to the noise, commanding silence. The older man glared at Marco who was reclining in his chair, quite pleased, and announced with a biting tone that MArco wasn't the one to decide of that. But Marco didn't seem to be listening and his eyes had yet to leave the spot they seemed to be burning a hole in on Teach’s head.  
Ace glanced at Garp who looked halfway between the two other men: smug about the effect Marco had had on Teach and annoyed at the doctor’s choice of words. The hearing was adjourned and everyone filed out in a chorus of excited voices. Ace needed to drink something -he had left home in a hurry without his usual coffee, so he decided to catch up right then and now. He came back to Luffy and Sabo talking excitedly to Garp, the latter probably over the finer points of their argumentation. Ace hated this lawyer talk and never paid much attention to it, and usually Luffy didn’t either, but apparently today was different. Sabo started explaining the next step to Luffy with some help from Koala while Garp turned to Marco. Ace gathered his remaining dignity and approached his grandfather. He glanced down at his drink he hadn’t touched yet. Huh.

“Hi. Nice little speech up there, Marco.”   


“Hello, Ace,” Marco replied, surprised but without the animosity Ace thought he’d have against him. “I’d thank you, but I doubt your grandfather would approve.”   


“You’re right I wouldn’t!” Gramps was squinting in between the two of them, but thankfully didn’t question their acquaintance. Ace was sure he’d be grilled on later, though.   


“Well, at least we have his reaction working against him,” Marco shot back instantly. “That fucker is guilty and we all know it.”   


“I’ve never heard you swear,” Ace remarked dumbly at the same time as Garp hissed "Language!" and Luffy snickered. He trying as hard as possible to not sound as turned on as he felt. Once again, adoptive grandpa over on his right put quite the damper onto things. “Here," he continued. "I thought you might need that,” he lied through his teeth and handed Marco the cup of coffee and rused to add, “Also, I’m sorry for the other day.”   


“It’s okay, everyone panics from time to time,” Marco said gently as he took the drink from Ace’s hands, lingering maybe a second too long.   


“Oh?” That was Garp, who was  _ still  _ observing them curiously.   


“None of your business, old geezer,” Ace grumbled as he reddened. “I’ll be going, got a lot of homework. Sorry I can’t stay longer, Garp. I know you’ll do a great job, though.”

He smiled a sorry smile at Marco, and turned around. He was completely and blatantly running away like a coward once again, true, but he didn’t have the courage to face all the obstacles of this day for longer than he already had.

* * *

Franky was staring at him from the opposite side of the table. He had been doing as much for the past ten minutes, and in turn Ace had trouble focusing on his reading material. The engineer was a truly good guy, even if his bodybuilding routine had put all of them to shame; but he was starting to seriously grate down on Ace’s nerves.  
(No, seriously. Even Zoro and his passion for lifting weights had been shamed by Franky. Yes, that had been a sore spot in the ego of all the guys of the Gang, even if no one ever voiced it aloud. Then they had seen Franky’s family and probably all decided that it was better to not be as strong as he was.)

“What is it, Franky,” he finally sighed and looked up from his textbook. “I can’t focus enough to read more than two lines.”   


“I don’t think you’d be concentrated anyway,” the idiot replied with a large smile. “Robin says you’re troubled.”   


“You’re making it sound like I’m an at-risk youth,” he grumbled, and really, thanks, Robin, real helpful. “You don’t have to always listen to what your girlfriend says, you know.”   


“Except when my girlfriend is Robin,” and to be honest, fair point. “She didn’t seem too worried about you though.”   


“See, nothing to be staring at me for. I’m fine, but midterms are in two weeks and I’d like to study.”

“Fine! Whatever, that’s not gonna fix your crush though.”   


“Oh my God, shut up about my crush already!!”

Of course, because Ace’s life often took the turn a nightmare would for a period of time, that’s how he admitted to having a crush to someone else than himself. And because Ace had particularly shitty luck, his adoptive grandfather opened the door right at that moment.  
Now, if you’ve ever had a very, very nosy guardian or parent, you might not be laughing for you know what will be taking place for ages and until Ace breaks and spills his guts. Thankfully (or not that much, really, that’s up to you), Ace was at least as stubborn as Monkey D. Garp, if not more. So of course, his grandfather -and really, what a grandfather he was- jumped on the juicy piece of information and in his best practiced lawyer voice, decided to try and have him confess. That lasted all of forty minutes before he left, yelling something about truth serums and stubborn, ungrateful grandchildren. By then, the whole goddamn household (at least half of the Gang was here) had gathered to watch the shouting match. At least, Franky had the decency to look sorry and apologized profusely.  
Ace gathered his things, shoved them in his bag and stormed out under his friends’ gazes. He should’ve gone to the library from the beginning, he mused bitterly. There were no nosy family members in a goddamn library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this time! I'll see you next week on the other part of this series which will give background to the whole Gang. Depending on the length of things, I might post two or three snippets.


	4. In Which Advances Are Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little shorter than usual! Sorry about it. I should wrap up next time with Chapter 5, and I may wrte an Epilogue depending on how I feel about it.

"You should do something about it, you know," said Law out of the blue.  
  
Ace didn't know what, when, or who the man was talking about. He was too tired, and so was his boss. A six-hours operation was nothing to joke about and they had had a few scares throughout. At least the patient was safe and sound, wheeled back into another room.  
He kept down the vague wave of nausea that hit his stomach, and managed a reasonable answer.  
  
"What the fuck are you on about," he asked without heat, his intonation flat and breathy.  


"Marco. You should do something about the painfully obvious crush you have on him."   


"Holy shit, does everyone call him by his first name?"   


"That's how he introduces himself, whatever. Plus it's better so we don't confuse the kids."   


"Like you'd care."   


"Nah, but Marco does, and he scares me shitless when he gets all mama hen." Ace frowned. Marco had never seemed threatening. "And I was talking about the crush you have on him."   


"When are you guys gonna stop yammering on about that? It's nice to have someone friendly to talk to at work."   


"... I fucking hate you, and I'm telling Luffy how much shit you’re talking."   


"I hate you more, anyway."   


"Whatever, Portgas.” He paused. “You haven't even talked to Marco for like... Ages." It was only a couple of days, in truth. Goddamn drama queen.   


"Nice try, Trafalgar.” If he didn’t know any better, if he didn’t realise just how  _ tired _ they were, he would’ve thought Law was caring. “Good job today, though," Ace finished as he got up from his spot on the floor.   


"Don't say that like you're the boss of me, and stop trying to change the subject!"

Ace waved the complaint aside with his hand, as if the gesture could physically repel his asshole of a superior and his arguments. After he finished brushing himself off, he dragged his tired frame through the corridor. The hallways he passed by where quiet, the time of night only allowing emergency rooms to be loud and on high alert. Everywhere else patients were asleep, and only his nurse colleagues were moving in soft flurries of steps. Too tired to fully change out of his scrubs, Ace grabbed his jacket and his messenger bag, ready to be reunited with his bed. As he exited the small locker room again and tried not to look at the break room, Law made another apparition. Given he looked like a Walking Dead extra Ace didn’t think whatever he said would be too bad.

“Take tomorrow off, Portgas.”

“You sure?” He frowned -Law didn’t often let things slide. Actually, he never did.

“Yeah. I already called in the other team. That emergency was damn difficult, and you did well. You deserve some rest. I’ll manage with the old man to clear your schedule.”

“Thanks.” Maybe Law wasn’t always so bad, after all. Ace tried not to smile, but his tired body betrayed him. “That’s nice of you, Law.”   
  


* * *

Ace yawned, ready to spend a wonderful day off just lazing around and reading up for his exams. It seemed like a very reasonable programme to him, he mused as he trudged down the stairs well on his way to the kitchen.   
A look at the clock and he smiled -11 am, more or less, that was an excellent sleeping score! The house sounded quiet enough, except from one or several voices drifting from his grandfather’s office. Impossible to tell if he was with a client or in a videoconference over the sound of the coffee machine, though, and Ace decided to plop himself down for a regenerative mug of caffeine. He doubted the unholy amounts of the drink would be of any good to him in the long run, but the habit was comforting by then. He smothered several more yawns as he clanged pans together, opting for scrambled eggs and bacon to complete his meal. Of course Garp got annoyed at the noise and yelled out, to which Ace responded with a garbled shout equalling the older man’s in volume. He decided then to run up the stairs to put on a shirt and avoid oil burns -as much as he loved breakfast food, he wouldn't do just anything for it.  Bringing down his class notes, he felt like a perfect student ready to start early (truth be told; he should know that it was never bound to work). A fry up was all he needed, truly, grease offset by the bitterness of his coffee and the soft chew of the bagel he set to toast for his eggs and bacon.

It was idyllic. It would never last in a life as chaotic as his, he should've known, but he had had several perfect mornings in the past years.  
He wasn't on his guard, not at all. He was home. What could potentially happen?

"You don't need oil to cook up bacon, you know."

Ace yelped, too distracted by the spatula in his right hand and his cardiology notes in the left. He felt a deep relief at having put on a t-shirt, however smelly it was, when he looked by the door to see Marco leaning against the frame. He wanted to ask what the hell he was doing here, extravagant hairdo and all, but that wouldn't have been polite. More importantly, it would’ve magnified his terrible awkwardness and highlighted the fact that he was indeed crushing on the pediatrician.   
He mentally kicked himself to get to say something.

"How did you get here," he asked instead of the first question that had come to mind, which wasn't much better. Ace felt himself wince.

"Oh, your grandpa wanted more details about whatever I said the other day." Marco smiled a little, apparently unaware of the dramatic meltdown of Ace's thought process. "Could I have some coffee?"

"Sure," Ace tripped over his own feet to get a second mug and a large amount of the hot drink in it. "You surprised me," he admitted with a frown, shoving the mug into Marco's hands.

"Yeah, sorry. You looked really pensive, I should've known better. Your grandpa said you would be here."

"Ah," was all Ace said, and the urge to throttle his legal guardian grew exponentially. It had always been there, but was most of the time dormant. He quite liked the old geezer, after all.

"Hm," Marco replied, as much as a reply as that was.

They shared the kitchen island in silence once Ace had finished to put his breakfast bagel together. Marco seemed in no hurry to get to work, and Ace started fidgeting as soon as he finished his food.  So he got more, serving himself an unholy large bowl of corn flakes. He could feel the judgement emanating from Marco, but pointedly ignored him. The mugs were both empty, so the older man had nothing much left to do except watch him.

"Shouldn't you go to work?" Ace finally asked with a bit of a bite to his tone.

"And what about you?"

"Law gave me an off day. Last night was rough."

"... Are you avoiding me?"

The question fell on Ace like a ton of bricks. He paused with a spoonful of soggy flakes halfway to his mouth, milk dripping slowly back into the bowl with a soft flick-flock. More embarrassing than his meal was the blush he felt creeping up his neck. He scowled and focused back on his food.

“Why would I do that? You’re… Cool. Nice.” Once again he winced, and dared not look up to Marco.

“I honestly don’t know, but that’s how it feels. I just wanted to let you know that you can tell me stuff, ya know? Is it because of what I said during the trial?”

“What? No, that was so cool!” He looked Marco in the eyes, latching onto the subject of conversation that wasn’t his stupid crush and its consequences. “I guess I was surprised you knew Thatch. I never saw you in school.”

“Well, I don’t have a spoonful of pedagogy in me,” Marco explained with a sharp smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “He was great at it, though.”

“He really was,” he agreed with a nod, offering a bit of sympathy with a smile of his own. In any other circumstances, he would’ve hugged the man, but right now it felt inappropriate for a reason he didn’t really grasp.

Silence stretched between them and Ace refilled Marco’s mug with coffee without being asked. He thought he owned the man as much for worrying him so unexpectedly. Garp’s voice could be heard in the background, raising from time to time. Ace knew the man had a lot on his plate these days, between Thatch’s case and other low-profile ones. He was also pretty sure he had taken onto himself to get Luffy’s dad and godfather to work for his company, but without any luck. When he got out of his thinking, Marco was looking out the window.   
It was a pretty day, all in all. Bit of cloud coverage, but nothing that could convince birds to stop twittering about. Autumn was descending upon them all quite quickly this year, and the trees were already getting burnt and fiery colours. It was Ace’s least favourite season, as he never knew what to expect from day to day - it called back unhappy childhood memories, days and nights spent between hoping for some warming dun and dreading the first frostbite of the season. He felt more than he saw Marco’s gaze change directions, focusing on him.

“Do you wanna grab lunch together?”

“Huh?”

“Lunch. In… Well, in a few hours, since you just ate. At the  _ Baratie _ .” Ace stared back at Marco, not quite knowing what to answer. He was pretty sure he was being asked on a date, and that sent his brain in overdrive. Marco pressed his lips together as he didn’t get an answer, and made to wave the offer off. Ace beat him to it before he could completely panic at the prospect and ruin his shot.

“Yeah! Sure, I’d like that.”

Marco’s face completely changed in the space of a second, and beamed a bright smile at his intention. Ace’s stomach made a strange thing where he thought he was gonna throw up for a second.   
After that, Marco had to get going, question of professionalism and seeing his little hellions back at the hospital. Suddenly, Ace didn’t feel like he was gonna enjoy his day off that much since the prospect of a  _ date _ , an  _ actual date with Marco _ was hanging over his head like a guillotine. He knew he wasn’t supposed to see it as such, but he couldn’t help but second guess everything. Was it a date to Marco, wasn’t he imagining things? What should he wear (once again, since when did he care about fashion of all things), or even order? Maybe he should call Sanji.

And that was all before Marco was even out of the door. But Ace managed to be an actual, normal human being and walked the guest back to the entrance. Some kind of creepy alarm must’ve warned Garp about his precious witness leaving his home/office, because he bellowed something probably rude in his special marine officer dialect and raced back to say goodbye to Marco as well.

“Thank you for your help, Doctor,” he exclaimed with his usual larger-than-necessary grin, trapping Marco’s hand in a strong handshake. Ace grimaced but to his credit Marco didn’t even seem to register the abnormally high pressure on his knuckles.

“I told you, you can call me Marco when we’re not in a serious setting, Sir. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need more things. I’d be happy to help.”

“Ah, well, I’ll take you up on that. Until next time.”

“Until next time. Ace, I’ll see you later. I’ll text you the time, okay?”

“Yup!” It wasn’t a squeal, whatever Garp would say. “See ya, Marco!”

Garp stood in the doorframe until Marco had walked up the driveway and then up the street corner, before slamming the door shut and pivoting on his heels to look at Ace with an expression more shark-like than a human should be allowed to muster. A shiver ran up his spine and he tried to turn around in a ‘nope, not discussing any of this’ attitude, but his grandpa launched his special attack of a headlock before he could escape.  
All Ace could make out of the grumbling older man was something about ungrateful grandkids having affairs behind his back, and it sounded so ridiculous Ace didn’t have the heart to correct him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continuous support! You guys are so great.
> 
> I'll update 'Some People Are Meant To Meet' a little later. I really like it, so if you have a bit of time to spare, you should check it out!


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